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Please use caution when using the trail between Abrams and Skillman for the next couple of weeks.

Dallas Water Utilities crews are repairing areas damaged by construction vehicles during work on the adjacent sewer line. This is will be a great improvement. This section was in poor condition even before work on the sewer started.

Some sections have already been repaired while others have barricades where the concrete was removed. As of yesterday (Jan. 20), one entire section of the trail was demolished and new concrete was poured. There is no paved bypass around these areas so trail users will need to walk, run or cycle through the grass areas on the sides of the trail until the work is completed. Members of the crew said that work on this area of the trail will continue at least into next week.

The Friends of the White Rock Creek Trail would like to express our appreciation to the Dallas Park and Recreation and Water Utilities departments for quickly addressing this issue.

The new northern extension of the White Rock Creek Trail is officially open. All the signs and barricades are gone. This is a beautiful new addition to the White Rock Creek Trail that is worth checking out.

The extension adds another three-quarters of a mile to the north of Valley View Park, and winds through a dense forest along the east side of White Rock Creek, in back of the Greek Orthodox church at Alpha and Hillcrest Roads, and along the west side of Hillcrest.

The northern extension terminates in a loop at a small park behind some houses south of Spring Valley Road. The only public access to the new trail is from Valley View Park. Here are a few photos taken on December 8th.

Although you may not have notice it, there’s a great local business a few feet from the White Rock Creek Trail near Greenville Avenue. Cafe Silva is a cozy coffee house that serves delicious espresso drinks, home-made pastries, and sandwiches. It is located at the intersection of Royal Lane and Greenville Avenue, about a mile east of US 75. If you’re on the trail, you reach it by taking the side path near the soccer fields at Northwood Park. The entrance faces Royal Lane.

In addition to great food and drinks, the cafe has a great view from its large floor to ceiling windows that overlooks the trail, Royal Oaks golf course and Northwood Park. You can sit and watch people passing by while you sip!

The cafe is owned and operated by Masoom Khan and his wife Suraiya, who does the baking, and is named after their daughter. They opened the cafe in 2010 after moving to Dallas from New York.

At Cafe Silva, the coffee beans are roasted locally and ground fresh throughout the day to ensure the coffee is always rich, fresh, and delicious. The coffee menu varies with the season and availability but the house favorites are blends from Indonesia and Brazil.

The “Bites” food menu changes daily and contains a variety of baked treats including homemade muffins, scones, banana bread and mini cakes. Hot lunch items also vary, but include turkey apple (this one is delicious, trust us!), roast beef and spinach, or nutella and banana panini.

Cafe Silva is a great place to stop as you’re passing by, or as a destination for you next trip on the trail. They recently extended their hours and are now also open on Sundays, which makes it even more convenient for trail users.

I rode to work via the trail this morning. I’m happy to report that trail construction at the intersection of the White Rock Creek Trail with the Cottonwood Trail is complete. The new intersection is nice! Increase in the width of WRCT to twelve feet makes for smooth sailing through here.

The construction crew also repaved the side trail that leads from the WRCT to the office building parking lot east of the 75 access road. The 75 access road sidewalk-Central underpass sidewalk route to Northaven Road is open again.

Construction, of what looks like the last section of this project, is now taking place west of 75 along the back of the Office Depot/Asian Mint shopping center. A temporary trail has been constructed, so this section is still completely rideable. Based on how quickly construction has been completed so far, this section might be completed next week.

The newly completed intersection of the White Rock Creek and Cottonwood trails. Nice, wide, and smooth!

The side path leading to the 75 access road sidewalk and Northaven Road has been re-paved. This is a popular way to get from North Dallas to the trail.

Construction continues on the west side of 75 behind the Office Depot shopping center, but a temporary trail is in place. This section is passable.

We’ve heard how delighted trail users are with the new section of the White Rock Creek Trail under Northwest Highway at West Lawther drive. Although not officially open (see photos), neither the contractor nor TxDOT have (so far) been inclined to force people off of it.

Coming from the north, this is the first Trail Closed sign to negotiate.

This sign is closer to the construction.

Trail closed sign approaching from the south.

We think this is great, especially for weekend use! Allowing early access to the underpass is much safer than continuing to use the NW Hwy/DART station detour, which has been the bane of trail users for the last two years. However, this situation could change and it is important that trail users don’t jeopardize this largess.

It is obvious that there is still much construction work that needs to be done. There are workers and heavy machinery along (and sometimes on) the trail. Please be extremely cautious when riding or walking through this area and be courteous to the workers. If everyone plays nice, the contractor and TxDOT may let us continue to use the new trail.

There is still a lot of construction work that needs to be completed.

We also need to point out that the stoplight at West Lawther and NW Highway is now working. So an alternative to the underpass is to use the sidewalk on the east side of West Lawther to cross NW Highway. Nice new paths lead from this sidewalk back to the trail.